La. grand jury indicts NY doctor over alleged illegal abortion pill prescription

• A Louisiana grand jury indicted Dr. Margaret Carpenter, a New York doctor, for allegedly prescribing abortion pills online to a Louisiana minor. The child’s mother also faces charges.
• Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill vows to hold those breaking abortion laws accountable.
• Meanwhile, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul opposes the extradition of Carpenter, citing the state’s shield laws.

A Louisiana grand jury has indicted a New York doctor for allegedly prescribing mifepristone online to a patient in the Bayou State. The pill that terminates a pregnancy of less than 70 days. Louisiana has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country.

According to Louisiana prosecutors, a mother in the state ordered the pill for her daughter, who is a minor.

“The young child was told by the mother that she had to take the pill or else, and the child took the pill,” District Attorney Tony Clayton said.

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Dr. Margaret Carpenter and her company, Nightingale Medical — along with the child’s mother — are charged with criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs, which is a felony in Louisiana.

Clayton said Friday, Jan. 31, that the mother was arrested and booked into jail, but she has since bonded out.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill posted to X on Friday, “It is illegal to send abortion pills into this state, and it’s illegal to coerce another into having an abortion. I have said it before, and I will say it again: We will hold individuals accountable for breaking the law.”

The state of New York has shield laws in place. Those laws protect doctors who prescribe abortion pills using telehealth for patients in states that ban the procedure.

In a Facebook video Friday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she would not allow Louisiana to extradite Dr. Carpenter to face the charges.

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“And I want to also say this: This is exactly what we feared,” Hochul said in the video. “Republicans are fighting to have a national abortion ban that’ll deny reproductive freedom to women not just in our state, but all across America. We must stand firm and fight this, and I’ll do everything I can to protect this doctor and allow her to continue the work that she’s doing that is so essential.”

In a separate lawsuit, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is also suing Dr. Carpenter. He argues she unlawfully provided abortion drugs to Texas residents.